Verizon Wireless distributions will be "more lean" going forward than they have been thus far as...

Verizon Wireless distributions will be "more lean" going forward than they have been thus far as the carrier pays down debt and bids in upcoming spectrum auctions, says Verizon (NYSE:VZ) CFO Frank Shammo in the wake of a $7B payout. The comments suggest Verizon might still use the distributions as a bargaining chip (previous) to get Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) to sell its stake. Shammo also states 1/3 of Big Red's postpaid subs are now on its costly shared data plans; that's up from 13% last November. (earlier)